As we all look for ways to solve the growing qualified labor gap, retention of our best and most talent employees plays a crucial role. Erica Fener of Human Resources IQ shares these great tips:      

• Ensure clear and consistent expectations. Just like in your employees’ personal lives, when confronted continually with unclear and ever-changing situations on the job, employee stress and insecurity can build resulting in worker unhappiness. Employee security and confidence increase when they know what to expect on the job and understand job performance goals and requirements.

• Ensure high quality supervision. Ms. Fener writes, “A supervisor’s actions can inadvertently make employees feel as though they are undervalued or not valued at all, and that plays a role in turnover.” We all have personal experience with poor leadership. Having the right leaders in place to inspire and motivate can make a world of difference in providing a positive and productive workplace.

• Encourage the sharing of ideas and feedback. Regular feedback sessions or surveys are important, but we must also look for feedback opportunities during our day-to-day operations. “What worked well on that last order?” “Any ideas on how to make this part of the line work better?” Also, remember not all employees, even high-performers, feel comfortable sharing ideas in public – take the time to individually seek out feedback.

• Ensure proper talent and skill utilization. Get to know your employees – skills and motivations - and determine how you can maximize their potential.

• Provide opportunities for learning and growth. Keep in mind not only is it important that employees know their jobs inside and out, but also think about providing opportunity to learn about the ever-changing manufacturing industry and local market and how your company plays a role.

• Develop a retention plan. Good retention requires action, so creating a plan and actually implementing is where the proverbial “rubber meets the road”. What specific actions can your company and leaders take, what actions mean the most to employees, how can you measure?

• Ensure there is reward and recognition. For the most part, we work because we need money and sometimes that is incentive enough to stay on with a company. But, as we saw in an earlier blog post, Harnessing the Power of Gratitude at Work, small gestures of recognition can also go a long way in keeping employee job satisfaction high. Be clear in your communications regarding pay, raises and bonuses, and remember on a daily basis to show your appreciation for a job well done.

Which tip above is most important to your retention efforts?